Hey guys could not find any help so i decided to make an account and try this out. I have 1986 f250 diesel and the truck is a solid dream with the except the power steering pump seal just blew. But I began noticing holes in the floor of my cab. I quickly ripped out the floor to realize there is so many holes. There is not enough replacement peices that are sold. Nor enough solid steel to rivet or weld anything to replace this massive problem. I was wondering if someone could walk me through the steps i need in order to rip the cab off. As well there was one last question. Its just a regular size cab, I was wondering if i could get a large cab for it and shorten the box if its at all possible before passing my safety and how id go about it. Any help would be more then kindly appreciated. Thank you ford truck enthusiasts.

 

Welcome to FTE.

To "rip the cab off" implies using a forklift or similar to tear the sheet metal from the frame, I really doubt you want to do that.

It's really not too hard, there are only 4 bolts (14 or 15 MM IIRC) that hold it to the frame - two underneath oval covers on the front floor, two behind the rear seat.

You'll need to disconnect the steering column <-> gear linkage (and automatic transmission linkage, if equipped), disconnect/move out of the way the hydraulic & parking brakes, throttle linkage to the engine, disconnect the wiring harness(es) in the engine compartment near the steering wheel (where it connects to rear-of-cab wiring), disconnect all underhood wiring from everything, disconnect any vacuum lines, the speedometer cable (multiple if speed-control-equipped), floor-mounted shifters (if equipped), I think that's about it. Basically, just look at it, and deal with what's stopping you from lifting it off.

Be sure to label where all the wires & hoses & such go so you can put 'em back easier.

Two decently-strong guys can lift it, removing the doors, seat & dash makes it quite a bit lighter.

The frames are different as the cab sizes get bigger, they curve & bend in different places.

If you're going to transplant the wiring from your existing cab to the replacement.... the underdash harness(es) extend through the firewall on both sides, so you'll need to retract everything back into the cab and go from there. Might be easiest to just transfer your existing dash & wiring to the replacement (this is what I plan to do).